Apparatus for bending and tempering sheet glass

Abstract

A glass sheet such as an automobile window glass sheet is bent to shape and tempered at one stage by a sheet glass bending and tempering apparatus. The sheet glass bending and tempering apparatus has solid contact members for pressing a glass sheet, which has been heated nearly to its softening point, to a desired shape and depriving the glass sheet of heat to cool the glass sheet quickly, the solid contact means having a contact surface for contacting the glass sheet and depriving the glass heat of heat therethrough. The contact surface has a plurality of grooves defined therein, and a plurality of air outlet ports defined in each of the grooves, for applying cooling air to the glass sheet, and a plurality of air inlet ports defined in each of the grooves, for drawing the air applied to the glass sheet. When the opposite surfaces of the glass sheet are pressed by the solid contact members, the pressure is temporarily reduced and then increased again to cool the glass sheet. The peripheral edge of the glass sheet, which requires a high degree of shaping accuracy, is cooled quickly by the solid contact members, and the central region of the glass sheet, which requires high optical properties, is cooled quickly by air jets.

We claim: 
     
       1. An apparatus for shaping and tempering a glass sheet, comprising: solid contact means for pressing a glass sheet, which has been heated nearly to a softening point thereof, to a desired shape and absorbing heat from the glass sheet to cool the glass sheet quickly, said solid contact means having a contact surface for contacting the glass sheet and absorbing heat from the glass sheet therethrough; and   said contact surface having a plurality of grooves defined therein, and a plurality of air outlet port means defined in each of said grooves, for applying cooling air to the glass sheet, and a plurality of air inlet port means defined in each of said grooves, for drawing the air applied to the glass sheet.   
     
     
       2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said grooves extend parallel to each other. 
     
     
       3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said grooves extend across each other. 
     
     
       4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said grooves has a width ranging from 2 mm to 15 mm and a depth ranging from 1 mm to 6 mm. 
     
     
       5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said air outlet port means and said air inlet port means in each of said grooves are alternately arranged. 
     
     
       6. An apparatus according to claim 1, further including a mesh-like metallic sheet covering said contact surface and said grooves. 
     
     
       7. An apparatus according to claim 6, further including a surface member covering said mesh-like metallic sheet. 
     
     
       8. An apparatus according to claim 1, further including a surface member covering said contact surface and said grooves.